Before we get into the Week 11 forecasts, here’s a reminder that if you have any questions about sports weather or how weather could impact play (and, potentially, your fantasy, DFS, and gambling decisions), don’t hesitate to reach out to Rotogrinders’ meteorologist Kevin Roth on Twitter (@KevinRothWx) or check out the hourly NFL weather forecasts on RotoGrinders. To take your game to the next level, subscribe to RotoGrinders’ exclusive WeatherEdge tool and see how different weather conditions have impacted historical scoring....

Check updated spreads and totals on our live odds board. Thursday, November 20 Chiefs -6.5, 43.5 at Raiders Kansas City, which opened -7 at William Hill and -7 (even) at The Wynn, continues to roll along, winning and covering its fifth straight game Sunday against Seattle. We’re not sure a clash with a division rival can be considered a sandwich game, but the Chiefs travel to Oakland on short rest with next week’s game against the Broncos somewhere in the back of their minds....

Our Other Plays went 2-1, pulling them up to 16-11-1. San Francisco (-1) was one of the tougher losses to swallow. The 49ers blew a 21-point halftime lead on Saturday night, due in large part to the fumble luck of the Chargers, who recovered all four fumbles. The Redskins (+7/+7.5) won outright over the Eagles, and the Panthers (-3.5) squeaked out the cover by one point against the Browns. Our one Break-Even or Better selection was Miami (-6....

The long-time Lightning captain entered Wednesday’s match vs. the Canucks sitting on 499 career goals, just one shy of becoming the 47th player to score 500. He finally achieved that milestone early in the first period to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead over Vancouver: After injuries slowed down his career production, Stamkos has turned back the clock over the last two seasons. He broke out for a career-best 106 points last season and is on his way to finishing over a point per game this year....

Is the Hart Trophy destined for the Sunshine State? Is Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson’s name already etched on the Calder Trophy? And will we see Mark Giordano finally get his Norris due? These are just a few of the biggest questions that won’t be answered until the awards ceremony. June is still a long way away, but for now, Sporting News’ hockey experts offered up their picks for this year’s NHL annual awards....

The lawsuit seeks damages and court-approved, NHL-sponsored medical monitoring for the players' brain trauma and/or injuries, which they blame on their NHL careers. It was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of players who retired on or before February 14 of this year and have suffered such injuries. The suit comes just three months after the National Football League agreed to pay $765 million to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed dementia or other concussion-related health problems — and in an era when more attention is being paid to the damages of head injuries sustained in sports....

“I was really young, maybe 10, playing in a tournament in Switzerland and you wear the jersey of an NHL team, it’s always random,” Hischier told reporters at the United Center. “That year we were the New Jersey Devils. So, yeah, it’s really special now.” Hischier had no idea he would be the top pick in the draft. The Devils did not give him a heads up, so Hischier and Nolan Patrick, who wound up going second overall to the Flyers, found out at the same moment which one of them was ending up in New Jersey....

While the draft dates of July 23-24 are seeming less and less likely by the day, NHL teams and scouts are diligently working in preparation — and this year, teams have their work cut out for them more than usual. Some players have yet to play a single game. Those that are suiting up have seen regular stoppages to their season. And in many cases, scouts aren’t even allowed in the rinks....

Still, the first day of free agency is important. There are good players available and a whole lot of money to go around, and teams are free to start spending (and wasting) at noon ET. We’ll be here. MORE: Winners and losers from the two huge trades 3:45 — Matt Martin is a Maple Leaf. He’s a good player, but he cost Toronto too much. 1:50 — Dan Hamhuis was one of the better d-men on the market, and he’s signed one of the better deals: Two years with Dallas at $3....

Tanev, 27, is coming off a career year with the Jets in which he had 14 goals and 15 assists. He also logged a career-high 14:07 minutes of ice time per game in 80 games. He’s known for his physical style of play as illustrated by his 278 hits and 81 blocked shots — both numbers ranked third in the NHL. In 195 career games, he has 24 goals, 27 assists and a plus-16 rating....

AccuScore has simulated each of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series 10,000 times to come up with predictions to play on the second round as well as win the Stanley Cup. Below are the probabilities and Vegas odds of advancing through the NHL playoffs and how they have changed. SN STAFF PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup AccuScore’s odds to win Stanley Cup Probability vs....

With their 4-0 victory over the Hurricanes on Thursday, Boston swept Carolina 4-0 in the series and the round concluded May 16. And, with the Western Conference finals being led by the Sharks 2-1, the earliest that series could finish would be May 19. But, there are really good odds this could be a seven gamer because, if the Sharks and Blues have shown anything this postseason, it’s that they play long series....

The 27-year-old forward, who entered Tuesday’s Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes with just four playoff goals to his name, scored the opener for Boston in a 2-1 win that gave the Bruins a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Wagner isn’t known for his scoring touch — he set a career high with 12 goals for the Bruins during the regular season, which doubled his previous best campaign — but the Walpole, Mass....

Playing its first home playoff game since May 26, 2009, the team allowed Washington to take just 15 shots on goal in Monday’s 5-0 win, night setting a new franchise record for fewest shots on goal allowed in a postseason game. The stifling performance was anchored by a historic second period for the Hurricanes as only one of Washington’s 15 shots came in between the intermissions. The lone shot for the Caps came off the stick of Alex Ovechkin just under five minutes into the period....

NHL playoffs 2019: Blues’ Jaden Schwartz posts second hat trick of postseason in Game 5 blowout After no whistles were blown when Tomas Hertl took a hit to the head from St. Louis center Ivan Barbashev in the Sharks’ Game 5 loss to the Blues, Couture said the league office set a bad precedent for the series by not coming down on Blues forward Sammy Blais for his hit on Justin Braun in Game 3....

In case you don’t remember, Jones was pulled in Game 4 after allowing two goals on seven shots: not great numbers. MORE: Lightning’s collapse continues curse of Presidents’ Trophy Jones struggled during the regular season, going 36-19-5 with a career-worst 2.94 goals-against average and .896 save percentage. His stats have not fared better during the postseason, as he has a 1-2 record with a shocking 5.34 GAA and .838 save percentage....

Just one week in and there are a few teams that have found their groove while others are struggling to get it back. The Senators have some people raising eyebrows while the Golden Knights and Lightning keep rolling along. Smiles have been aplenty, including 2020 third-overall draft pick Tim Stützle, 2018 draftee Alexander Romanov and 41-years-young Joe Thornton, who have all notched first goals. Jack Hughes is another year older and his game has been ramped up while we’re still waiting on 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière’s first NHL point....

The report cites an internal memo recently distributed to NHL clubs that outlines which players have no-movement clauses in their contracts, thus rendering them exempt from June’s expansion draft. Any player who possesses the NMC at the time of the draft must be protected by his team, unless the clause is waived. And though most of the names on the list were expected, a few might come as a disappointment for cash-strapped clubs hoping to unload a bad contract as Vegas attempts to reach its salary cap floor....

Between now and July 1, Sporting News will examine the NHL’s top RFA players. This week, we look at the Metropolitan Division. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes In just three years, the 21-year-old center blossomed into the Hurricanes’ franchise player. Netting a career-high 30 goals and 83 points, Aho was their leading scorer for the second-straight year. He was also led the Canes in points during their run to the 2019 Eastern Conference Final....